


Sing Along With Me

by Annafyz



Category: RedLetterMedia RPF
Genre: Drinking, F/M, Mike and Jay crash the wedding, Smoking, but not really, emotional karaoke singing, set in mid 2000's
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27063751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annafyz/pseuds/Annafyz
Summary: You chill out on a wedding you were not invited to, and try to hit on a certain hired cameraman.~~~~~~~NB: written by a non-native english speaker! Feedback and corrections are welcome!
Relationships: Mike Stoklasa/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Edited by lovely RedLetterMistress (except the last chapter)  
>  _This work is on hiatus, sorry._ But I figured, could as well upload it for all of you to see, couldn't hurt.

It was a wonderful Friday evening in late spring. You were walking down a familiar street in the East Town of Milwaukee, hurrying to the place that had become your second home in the last couple of years.  


Today was tough, and you desperately needed to indulge in two top-quality past-times: alcohol and karaoke. Belting out classic songs with a cocktail in your hand had become your favorite stress relieving activity. It seems that the universe blessed you with an ear for music but cursed you with ADHD.  


Two years ago you stumbled upon a great place; a cozy bar downtown with a huge database of karaoke songs, and honestly, you could’ve lived there. You hung out there so often you knew most of the staff members by name. Hours spent talking and laughing at the bar had turned the staff and some of the other regulars into people you considered friends. You even knew the owner, Joseph, and he always said hi to you when visiting the bar.  


Your eyes closed slightly in anticipation; planning out your set list and humming along to the music in your head. Just a few more hours of work and you’d finally be able to sing along to your favorite songs with an audience of people you considered great friends, or at the very least, supportive acquaintances.  


As soon as you stepped inside the bar, you noticed something unusual for a Friday night – the place was empty. No customers at all, not even the regulars. Only a few staff members were working; cleaning the place up and rearranging the furniture. The juke box was playing, but without familiar buzz of clinking glasses and patron voices, the bar sounded lonely and orphaned.  


"Not very crowded today, huh?" – You approached the long-haired blonde guy who’s name you didn't quite remember. You’d seen him serving drinks countless times, but he’s never been overly friendly. He probably knew your name, though. ‘Legolas,’ as you called him to yourself, was removing the chairs from the main area of the bar. He paused his labor and gave you a long, tired look and then shrugged.  


“OK… is the Machine open for business?” - you continued your interrogation. _Why is he like this? Did you say something wrong?_  


He gave you another wary look.  


"You don't know, do you?” he replied with a questioning look.  


You didn’t know. Fear crept up from the bottom of your soul. _Is the bar closing down? Moving out? Are you banned for life for sins you must’ve unknowingly or drunkenly committed?_  


“Joseph got married. The bar is closed today for his wedding reception,” Legolas explained as you stood there dumbfounded. Finally came the realization that your karaoke world was not going to come crumbling down. Although to say you were pleasantly surprised was an understatement.  


“Wow! He really did? When?”  


“Yesterday, if I got it correctly.”  


_Well, that's a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one._ You’ve known Joseph for two years already, and you didn't even know he had a girlfriend.  


Legolas turned back to work after giving you the third wary look.  


“I’m not sure if he’ll let you stay, y/n.”  


"Oh, right. I'm gonna ask him. Shit, I don't even have anything for a present... Do you know where's he right now?"  


"Not here. I think he went to go pick up the food.”  


_Huh..._ Well, you weren't exactly one hundred percent sure the newlyweds would let you stay at their party, but you were hoping that would be the case. The karaoke machine in the far side of the spacious room was unoccupied, lonely and inviting.  


"Soon, my dear..." you whispered.  


After about 20 minutes of mindless wandering around the empty bar and chatting with the manager (with whom you once unsuccessfully went on a date), the back door opened with a loud clatter. Joseph, a dark-haired curly man in glasses, walked in with his best man and several other familiar-looking groomsmen, carrying at least two dozen plastic bags full of takeout food.  


"Hey, Joseph! Hi! Congratulations on your wedding!" You jumped up to him to give him a hug as soon as he placed his bags on the bar counter.  


"Oh, hey, y/n. Thanks." He clearly wasn't expecting to see you here today. He didn't invite you, after all. You weren't even working here. Yeah, he looked as awkward as you felt.  


"Listen, I swear I didn't know today was a private party. Can I please stay? I won't be any trouble. Sorry, I don't have a present on me right now, I’ll give it to you next week, OK?"  


Joseph sighed deeply. He started to unpack the food.  


“Uhh… Sure, you can stay. The more people the better.”  


_Oh, fuck yes!_ This evening is gonna be great.  


You wanted to repay your kind host tonight in some way, so you volunteered to help the groomsman with plating up all of the takeout food and making it look presentable. Platters of hummus and pitas needed to be dished up and set on each table.  


While unpacking the bags, you looked around the guests Joseph had brought with him: every person at the bar was wearing formal attire. Thankfully, you had been too lazy to go home and change out of your business casual day-wear to something casual-casual for the bar. Your usual Friday-night attire (your favorite band t-shirt and plaid shirt over it) would have let everyone know you really didn’t belong here. At least now you could blend in with the crowd.  


The bartender named David was lining up clean glasses on the counter. You caught his eyes and he waved at you.  


"Hey, excuse me, ma'am, can we use this table for a minute?" A male voice came from behind. You turned around quickly, hoping you weren’t getting in the way.  


Two men were standing next to the table you had been setting up. One was tall dark-haired, with very distinct features and smirking brown eyes. The other one was much shorter, about your height, with light brown messy hair, buck teeth and green eyes. The mismatched pair were carrying what you could only assume was filming equipment. You quickly removed the plates and platters, and let them have admirable chunk of free space on the table.  


The guys certainly looked less classy than the guests. Taller one was in a navy-blue shirt with rolled up sleeves and black denim pants. The dark shirt framed his broad shoulders and left simply nothing to your imagination. You could clearly see every curve on his arms and shoulders as his muscles flexed to hold the heavy gear bags. The short man to his left, however, was a fashion trainwreck. His dirty blonde hair was sticking out everywhere and made you wonder when he’d last brushed it. He was wearing baggy shorts sagged down to his ankles and an abomination of a t-shirt, printed to make it look like a tux.  


"Thanks," said the shorter one with the same voice that you’d heard earlier. He placed his camcorder on the table carefully and started rummaging through the bag. The tall one was looking at you with a kind of suspicion; like how a parent looks at the teacher who never treats their child fairly. You decided to avoid eye contact with the larger man until you’d had at least one drink.  


"Hey Mike," the shorter one called after extracting peculiar looking lamp on a tripod from the bag. "Set it in the corner left of the entrance. I'll see how the lighting is in the main room." With that, they both went on their separate ways to the opposite ends of the venue.  


_Huh. Joseph even got videographers for the reception. How fancy._  


You decide you need to step up your game to blend in with this fancy affair. Trying your best to look natural but sexy, you approached the bar and asked David what was on the cocktail menu for the night. It turns out that when a bar owner has their wedding reception in their own bar, they can make everything free! _Oh my! That might get me into trouble._  


“The usual, then?” David filled the glass with ice, and smiled at you.  


“Yeah. Let’s start easy tonight”  


The usual was a rum and Coke. God bless you, Joseph, and your new wife. By the way, it would be a good idea to find out what her name is. Taking your glass, you turned around to try to find Mike the cameraman. Damn, what a handsome guy this one was. Slender looking, but not too skinny, heart-shaped face, slick black hair. He was installing the tripod and lights so that camera could face the most well lit place in the room. After he finished, he turned around and caught your glance. And winked. With a smirk.

_Oh my god._

You had to run away, and fast. The unintelligible voice of one of the managers came from the other room. You spun around quickly with the image of that perfect smirk burned into your memory. David stood behind the bar looking back at you expectantly.  


“Wha... wait… what?” you managed to get out.  


“I think they’re turning the karaoke machine on.” David explained as he pointed in the direction of the second room. “You was waiting for it, right?”  


“Oh! Right. Well, I’ll be on my way then.” _Fucking finally._ You hurried over with a half-empty glass in your hand.  


The karaoke room about the same size as the main area of the bar, but there was less tables and chairs, so it felt more spacious. A small karaoke set with a connected laptop was located against a nicely decorated wall. You frequented the bar so often that you had become an expert on how to run the machine. The staff saw you fix the set up more than once and now allowed you to use it whenever you wanted.  


The wall behind the karaoke set up was plastered with photographs. Many of the usual regulars, less-frequent customers, staff members, and local celebrities all found their way onto the karaoke wall. Most of the photographs were of people you knew, but some were unfamiliar.  


Despite spending countless evenings at the bar, you were in exactly none of the photos. You always felt uncomfortable being in front of the camera and didn't like being photographed or filmed.  


Your heart sank a bit remembering that Joseph had hired a small film crew. How were you going to avoid them? Maybe those two cameramen would coincidentally look away when you enter their field of view. Maybe you could slip them a couple of bucks to make sure they didn’t record you.  


After 5 minutes of tinkering with software, the karaoke machine was finally ready to go. You were overjoyed, until Joseph flagged you down and told you that you could sing only after the official part of the event was over.  


"Are you going to be starting soon, then?"  


"Yeah. Actually, Dina and her friends should already be there. That’s weird." Joseph took the phone out and started calling.  


You sipped the last of your rum and Coke from your glass and decided to seek out the smaller cameraman. That one acted more like a real professional; you barely noticed him even when he passed you with his camera. Like a wildlife photographer, the blonde just let people do their thing and captured all of the best moments.  


Joseph finally got through to someone on his phone. "Five minutes? Dina, we've... Yeah, we're all set... Jay and his friend are already here. Two. Yeah... Great, five minutes. Love you, babe." Joseph put the phone back into his breast pocket and exhaled deeply.  


"Hey, people! Maximum alert! They are going to be there in five minutes! Jay, Mike, are you ready?"  


"Sure are, chief" said Mike with a fake cheerful voice that reminded you of old TV broadcasters.  


_About time_ , you thought. Finally, the official part would start in five minutes, and after that the real party would begin. Someone turned the juke box up slightly, and the station was changed to a reception mixtape. Mike and Jay took positions on the different sides of the room, trying to find the best angles to film the entrances. A group of guests stood near the doorway clearly posing for the camera. Jay peered through his viewfinder and shook his head at the crowd. He spoke in a voice with much less confidence than before: "Can everybody please _try_ look casual?"  


So everyone did. Sort-of. You positioned yourself against the bar counter, trying to look as invisible as you could, hiding behind your friend Dan and his girlfriend.  


A minute later Dina and her guests entered. She was wearing all white; not a dress, but high-waisted, glittery pants and a cream colored blouse. She looked nice, but her expression was tired and concerned. You actually felt a little sorry for her.  


Thus the official part of the evening began. Dina introduced to everyone her guests, as she had far fewer friends than her husband. Then Joseph introduced his guests, and stumbled a bit when he couldn’t remember your last name. Dina gave you fiery, contemptuous look. Of course she did. You showed up uninvited to her wedding.  


Joseph’s best man gave a short speech about how happy he was for the new couple. Dina’s maid of honor cried through most of her speech, but the parts you could understand seemed nice. All in all, it seemed like a perfectly nice little reception. Short, sweet, and right to the point.  


"So, yeah, let's get his party started, people!” Joseph shouted happily. “Help yourself with the snacks, have any drink you want at the bar, and the karaoke machine is free all night. We want to thank you all for coming and we hope that you all have a wonderful evening!"  


You hoped so too. With Joseph’s speech over, you excused yourself to your spotlight. At last.


	2. Chapter 2

Ignoring everyone and everything else you ran to the karaoke set. You didn’t bring a wedding present for the couple, but at least you could entertain them and their guests with your singing and amazing music taste, right? Nothing makes a party fun and memorable like a good sing-along.

You scrolled through the catalogue on the screen, searching through the hundreds of songs with nothing specific in mind. Something to warm up, something not very loud, but pleasant and short. You hit “random” button a couple of times. “The Beatles – All My Loving”. _Huh. Excellent choice, Machine._

It took a few moments to remember how the song goes; you didn’t want to mumble or come across as flat like you’re just reading the words on screen. You think back to the last time you sang this song and recalled that it doesn’t have an intro, it gets right to the vocals. You took the microphone and hit “Play.”

_Close your eyes and I'll kiss you  
Tomorrow I'll miss you  
Remember I'll always be true  
And then while I'm away  
I'll write home every day  
And I'll send all my lovin' to you_

The room was mostly empty. Legolas and one other waiter were there, but they were busy talking to each other and weren’t paying any attention to you. Legolas seemed particularly uninterested. He was so used to hear your singing, you bet your could recite fucking Necronomicon right there. Maybe even summon a demon. As long as you did it a singing voice, you’re sure he wouldn’t even notice.

_All my lovin', I will send to you  
All my lovin', darlin', I'll be true_

You did a little air-guitar. It was probably dorky as hell, but you knew there was no one to see you and judge. Yet. _Carpe diem while no one is looking, y/n._

When the song ended, the other waiter who was talking to Legolas, a goth-looking kid with long black bangs, turned his head to you and gave you a nod. You smirked and did a curtsey. Not the warmest reception. The next song is going to be a real deal.

It was time to wake up this crowd. You typed in “The Darkness” and picked “Friday Night.” Seems like a perfect fit for the setting. The guitar intro started almost instantly. You turned the volume up and closed your eyes. You held the mic with both hands now, you couldn’t help being a little dramatic about it.

_Hey you!  
Do you remember me?  
I used to sit next to you at school  
We indulged in all the extra-curricular activities  
We weren't particularly cool_

You loved this song so much. It was so innocent, so sincere. And the vocal line was great, really gave you space to belt out the high notes, and to load the lyrics with emotions. You almost always sang the song with your eyes closed; as though opening your eyes would break the spell. The song moved into the guitar solo, and your air guitar was ready. Without opening your eyes, you did a few abrupt movements with your head, sort of shy headbanging.

The song continued on to a weird part where the singer rolled his r’s like a pouncing tiger. It was very goofy, but you still loved it and you’ve never been ashamed of going all out for a song. Following the groove, you raised one of your hands in a fist. In your imagination you were no less than Joan Jett, with an air guitar. If you could’ve done splits, you’d do it. If there was a microphone stand, you’d take it like Freddie Mercury. Your rocking abilities were limited to headbanging, which became more aggressive as the song went on, so you did just that.

_WHOOOOOAAAAH-OOH!  
Monday, Tuesday  
Wednesday, Thursday  
Dancing on a Friday night  
Let the music smother me  
Whole weekend recovery  
Dancing on a Friday night  
With you._

You opened your eyes as the song came to an end and immediately regretted the choice. No more than ten feet away stood Mike the cameraman with his lens pointed right at you.  


You almost dropped the microphone, as your arms instantly lost their strength. Boy, would that look bad on tape. Without looking up, you walked off your miniature stage, passed the hot cameraman and wobbled away to the bar without looking back. The guests there were still standing in a reception line.  
“Wow, what happened, y/n? Is everything alright?” David looked at you with wide eyes, and there was genuine concern in his voice. Shit, you must be red as a tomato. _Play it cool, everything IS alright._  


“Yeah, I’m fine. Was singing too hard, that’s all. What can you mix me to make the tension go?”  


“I can make you a Blow Job”  


“Wha… Huh!?”  


David bursted into laughter. “Can’t believe this is the fourth time it worked tonight! Oh maaaan!” he snorted “It’s the name of the shot,” he wheezed as he was wiping tears from his eyes. You had to admit, if you were a bartender, and knew such cocktail, you’d absolutely suggest people to make them a Blow Job. David showed you a printed out sheet with a recipe. It was a mix of Baileys, amaretto, with whipped cream topping. You asked for two.  


Shots were nice, sweet and pleasant, but even they couldn’t change or make you forget the fact that in other room there’s a videographer with a camera full of blackmail material on you. You couldn’t even imagine how stupid, pathetic, dorky, idiotic and awkward you looked during this song. No one should ever see that. This Mike guy probably couldn’t erase the footage off his camcorder even if he wanted to. You’d have to ask him anyway. You couldn’t let Joseph and Dina just find one day 15 years later that their wedding video features extensive shots one random chick drunkenly singing karaoke, and she wasn’t even invited.  


You had to clear your head and make a game plan; just hang out there for a couple of minutes, to chill and calm down. You downed the second shot in a big gulp. The newlyweds were still accepting hugs and kisses from the reception line, and the short cameraman was slowly circling around them with his trusty camera. Some of the guests were already holding plates and drinks. Dina’s bridesmaids (who all were wearing similar deep-red short dresses) already stopped crying and now were happily laughing and clinking their champagne glasses. Now that the music was switched to Top 100 radio, everything felt almost like a TV ad. They were definitely posing for those glamour shots. Not that you blamed them, their dresses were nice, hair and make-up was on point, the cameraman seemed competent and experienced. You tried to pick up a good time to get up and leave the room at the exact moment Jay’s camera was pointed not in your direction.  


Your heart was still racing. As you walked in the other room, you saw Mike’s tall figure in the soft dimmed lights of the room. He was filming overall interior, moving slowly across the floor. Some guy you didn’t know was singing Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers, with a couple of girls cheering and singing along. The song made you clutch your teeth. It was so fucking overplayed in this bar, you heard it every single time you came there. Sometimes twice. Mike didn’t seem to mind it though, he was carefully walking around in the same manner as Jay. He wasn’t looking at anyone, all consumed by the work. You leaned on the wall and waited for the moment he’d either change the angle or stop rolling altogether, so you could approach him without fear of being caught on camera. _Also, you have to formally introduce yourself, if you want him to smile and wink at you like that again. Maybe even make out with him tonight, you never know, right? Right._  


The song ended, and the small crowd of women clapped and whistled. Mike finished his roll with a low angle shot of the happy group, straightening up from his half-bent legs. Here it goes.  


“Excuse me? Hi.” Swallowing your anxiety, you tapped on lower part of his arm. The shirt felt silky under your hand. Oh, how you wished you could wrap your fingers around his forearm and feel the muscle under that shirt. _Can you please stop being so pathetically horny? Grow the fuck up!_  


Mike turned his head to you and gave you a look that said “I saw your Superbowl halftime performance earlier, what are you going to do about that?” but he kept quiet. He looked to your hand, still on his sleeve, and said in a very pleasant, low voice: “Hey.” His deep brown eyes squinted slightly as he smiled back. You pulled away from his arm and tried not to look too flustered. “May I help you?” Mike asked with an amused chuckle.  


“Yeah, you can. You filmed how I was singing there, right?” Your heart was ready to burst.  


He nodded with a grin, looking you straight in the eyes. “Yes, I did.” How could one even fit so much smugness into three short words?  


“Could you please delete the footage?”  


“No, I don’t think I can do that. Why would you want me to? I don’t think there was anything wrong with that performance.” Mike narrowed his eyes. “I’ve filmed enough of these kind of events to know terrible singing when I hear it, and you were especially not-terrible.”  


You were ready to sink through the floor. Your face grew hot in a second. You weren’t good at accepting compliments.  


“I’m not comfortable with being filmed. I don’t like it at all.”  


_Also you were pretty much a stranger to the newlyweds._  


Mike looked down at you with curiosity. One of his dark eyebrows perked up to his hairline as he examined you. It was a bit uncomfortable. _C’mon, dude, stop staring! I’m already flushed!_ At last his expression changed from perplexed to something softer. He cocked his head to the side and flashed you a pleasant smile.  


“Well, I’m sorry then. Really. I’ll tell the editor not to put you in the final cut of the video”  


_Phew. That’s a relief._  


“Thank you. I appreciate it. My name’s Y/N, by the way”. You offered him a hand.  


He took it without hesitation. “I’m Mike. Nice to meet you.”  


Meanwhile, the loud girls went up on stage and started looking through the song database. They giggled and blabbered happily each time one of them found a new potential track.

Over the last few months, you've noticed how often groups of drunken white girls always sing the same 10 or so songs. Sometimes, you even made bets with yourself to see if you could call the song they picked before it started. It was a lottery you nearly always won. It was a fun game. But your prize was to listen to whatever Spice Girls or Britney Spears song the drunk girls had chosen. 

Mike pointed his camera to the stage again to capture the moment, but dropped the lens back down a moment later. 

"Oh Christ. This is probably not going to be good," he grumbled.

"Yeah," you agreed. "If there's five girls, and they're that drunk, they're probably going to sing a Pu..." 

Deep bass blasted out of the karaoke speakers before the boldest drunk girl starts in to the first verse of Don't Cha by the Pussycat Dolls. 

Mike turned right back to you as the other girls start to "harmonize."

"You know, it's probably as good a time as any to have a smoke break. You wanna come?"

 _You sure as fuck did._  


"Yeah," you replied. "Unless you want to get up there and help them with the Busta Rhymes parts?"  


"I would rather rub sand in my eyes, actually." Mike deadpanned.  


So the two of you made your way to the first room. His blonde friend was still filming the guests from afar.  


"Jay, I'm on a smoke break. Keep the eyes on my camera", Mike quietly addressed Jay.  


"Sure. Do a b-roll when you're back. After that we're pretty much done, I got everything that I needed." Jay replied without taking his eyes of the viewfinder.  


Mike nodded to his friend and smiled at you: "Al-righty then". You gave a smirk back.  


"Is this an Ace Ventura reference?"  


"It might be."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Darkness - Friday Night   
> youtu.be/O4KzyRttAts


	3. Chapter 3

You never visited the bar’s smoking area before. Mike seemed to know where it was located. You followed him back to karaoke room again, to the insignificant iron door, to the back area.  


There were two crappy-looking formerly yellow benches and a two outdoor ashtrays. Mike had made it to the bench and perched on it, resting his elbows on the knees. You noticed he already had a cigarette pack in his hands. Not that you disliked smoking, but you took a second to breathe the fresh air in while you still could.  


It smelled wonderful outside though. It was the smell of summer-ish night city, and it made you feel like a reckless teenager again. There was no other smell quite like it. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Gonna act like a reckless teenager tonight, then.  


“May I have one too?”  


Mike looked at you with a calm expression, and took out two cigs. You didn't smoke normally, and was pretty sure that you’re gonna spoil everything by the coughing. Also, smoking right after drinking was a bad idea for an unprepared person. You took a seat next to him and took a cigarette.  


Mike lit his cigarette up and held out a cheap-looking black lighter to you. It took you two tries to lit it right, and you handed it to him over. Thankfully, you didn't cough, but your head got dizzy immediately. Rush of nicotine took your alcohol infused brains off guard. Head felt as heavy as lead-filled barrel. If you weren't sitting, you would probably fall.  


“I really liked how you sang there.” Mike’s voice was heard as through a thick pillow.  


“Thank you.”  


Dizziness from a cigarette passed soon enough. You took another drag and turned around to your new adversary.  


“So, you film things” you said as nonchalantly as you could.  


Mike smirked and let the smoke out of his lips. “Precisely, yeah, that’s what I do. Although tonight most of the work is on my friend Jay there”  


“Are you guys getting paid for tonight?”  


Mike paused and you took a second to study his facial features closer. What a handsome dude, you repeated to yourself. He was probably under 30, at the very worst 29. His dark eyes were focused on some distant spot on the roof of the bar, and in dimmed lights of the street he looked like a movie star, dark and mysterious.  


“Sure. Although not as much as usual with this kind of events”  


“Why’s that?” you took another drag, getting used to a long forgotten heaviness in your body.  


“Jay’s sister is bride’s friend. She asked him and me to make a discount”  


“Well, shit.”  


“But, hey” - Mike turned his gaze to you and smiled warmly. “At least the booze is free”  


“Heh, yeah, that’s a nice bonus” you responded, returning him your cutest smile. “What else do you film? Weddings, funerals, kids' birthday parties?”  


Mike laughed at your joke. “Who the fuck films funerals?”  


“I dunno, I just know people do! I once found a VHS tape in my grandma’s attic, and it turned out to be a funeral service for some of our relatives! Turned it off as soon as I figured out what it was. Super spooky, right?”  


The anecdote grabbed Mike’s attention. He turned to you, and there were sparkles in his eyes.  


“I haven’t filmed, and hope to never film actual real life funerals. I’d only film them if I were making a movie. That’d be really cool.”  


“Do you want to make a movie?”  


“Correction. I want to make _movies_ ” He put emphasis on plural form. You nodded, letting him know you got the distinction.  


A short pause followed, filled only with far away car honks and sounds of you blowing the smoke out.  


“And you? Are you with the groom or with the bride?”  


You put out the butt and threw it out in the ashtray next to you. Mike took out two more cigarettes, and held out one to you. You shook your head, declining it.  


“Simply put, neither. I just sorta crashed here, uninvited.”  


“No kidding! And you didn't get kicked out? From what I’ve heard, this Dina chick is a serious control freak. Hostile to strangers, all that.”  


“I’m just a regular at this bar. I’m not even wearing formal clothes, you see?” You pointed on your white blouse with a strategically unbuttoned top button. “Joseph knows me, and he let me stay, God bless him. Also, it’s not a nice thing to say about the bride, who’s the reason you get free booze tonight, don’t you think?”  


Mike’s brows knitted together, and his voice became more deep. ”Well, I am not nice. I am a huge asshole. And it’s nothing personal against her. I’m just stating facts.”  


You decided it’s time to seal the deal.  


“Well, maybe it’s too early to judge, but I think you are nice. You complimented me. And you were polite, and let me have your cigarettes.”  


“That’s merely a façade I put on for pretty girls...” he declared with villainous notes in his voice.  


“Oh, come on now.”  


You felt your cheeks grew a bit hotter against the cool breeze. Mike put his second cig out, got up from the bench and looked at you expectantly. You got up too. God, he was tall.  


“Are you gonna sing more?”  


“Yeah, sure. Would you sing along?”  


Opening the door to you, Mike smiled.  


“With pleasure.”  


Once inside, you took a place in the queue for the karaoke. Same guy who sang Californication before now was showing off his best Nickelback impression to a non-Nickelback song. _What to sing, what to sing…_  


Meanwhile, Mike disappeared in the main bar area to get his camera. He promised not to film you anymore, so you weren’t worried about that. You WERE worried though about impressing him with your next number. You needed a song that would seduce a guy on a spot.  


As Mike has returned with his camera, you were looking through the song base. Your heart was beating like crazy. Fingers felt cold and numb. The air felt chilly. All because your mouse cursor was hanging above the “Play” button for the only song that simply could kill a man. Divinyls. I Touch Myself.  


“This one goes to all the lonely boys tonight”  


Was it a dirty move? Yes, absolutely. Were you afraid to appear desperate? Perhaps. In fact, you instantly felt light regret over picking that song, as it was the musical equivalent of a lap dance. It was shameless seduction at its most pathetic.  


You didn’t see Mike’s face, sadly. But he had a more important mission to accomplish: all people’s eyes were looking at you, and you could imagine, the shots Mike was working on would look great. Strobe lights were dancing across people’s faces, and disco ball you always found cheesy and unnecessary now was a shining orb radiating pure magic.  


You kept your head down while the build up was slamming the speakers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Divinyls - I Touch Myself  
> youtu.be/wv-34w8kGPM


End file.
